


Stray Shots

by awkward_tumbleweed



Category: King Arthur: Legend of the Sword (2017)
Genre: Archer!Reader, Arthur Pendragon Is King, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Secret Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-10
Updated: 2018-01-10
Packaged: 2019-02-22 07:20:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13162038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/awkward_tumbleweed/pseuds/awkward_tumbleweed
Summary: As an apprentice to Goosefat Bill, you were one of the best archers in the land. However, you're not perfect, and when an arrow almost kills your king, well...things get interesting.





	Stray Shots

_In._ You inhaled. _Out_

Upon releasing your breath, you did the same to your arrow. It sailed through the air with deadly accuracy and pierced its intended target; a bright red apple winking at your in the afternoon sun from your perch on the cliff. The arrow went straight through the fruit right in its middle.

Your smirk was one of triumph.

Until your heard shouting and a familiar voice go, "Protect the king!"

Then your saw the commotion through the branches, and nearly slipped over the cliff. You opted to swing down instead, using the rope your had shot up earlier to climb the cliff. Without gloves on, you were pretty sure your palms had burns on them, but that was the least of your problems. You made a quick dash through the apple trees towards where the voices were coming from and came to skidding halt when you reached it.

King Arthur had been walking through his orchard, and you had nearly killed him, if the arrow embedded at his feet was anything to go by. He was surrounded by several guards and his most trusted men: Wet Stick, Perci, Bedivere, and of course Bill, your mentor.

"(Y/N)?" Bill frowned, keeping his sword up. "Did you just try to shoot the king?!"

You held up your hands, eyes wide as saucers. "It was an accident, I swear!" You looked to Arthur. "I didn't know you were in the orchard, your majesty."

Thankfully, Arthur didn't seem angry. Instead, he raised a brow. "And what are you doing shooting arrows in my orchard?"

"Practice," you answered sheepishly.

Everyone started relaxing then, putting away their swords and giving you looks of varying amusement. Suddenly, a new voice called out your name from somewhere behind you.

"Over here, Blue!" you turned around and shouted back, and not minutes later, the boy came running towards you, not at all seeing the others.

"The boss is 'ere!" he cried, huffing as he bent over his legs. "Boss is'n the orchard."

It was your turn to raise a brow. "Yeah. I know."

Blue's brows furrowed then, and his gaze shifted to our side before widening. "Oh. Guess I'm late?"

"A little bit." You nodded.

"(y/n), what did you get Blue into now?" Wet Stick questioned, and you spun back to face them.

You lifted a shoulder. "I had him keep watch if anyone enters the orchard so I don't accidentally shoot them."

"And you decided to use my orchard for practice..." Arthur trails off, giving you a look that bordered amusement and accusation. "Why?"

You were back to feeling sheepish as you avoided eye contact with anyone, digging the toe of your shoe into the ground. "Apples make for good targets."

"And what were you going to do with the apples?" Wet Stick asked, clearly not seeing the logic behind your actions.

"I always give them to cook for pies," you answered with a defensive shrug, finally look at the men from under your lashes.

Perci's brows reached his hairline. "Always?"

"Oh, lord." Bill shook his head, thumb and finger pinching the bridge of his nose.

Timidly, your gaze traveled back to Arthur, and found him fighting off a smile. He cleared his throat when he caught your eyes, stern mask falling into place as he says, "If you chaps can give us some privacy, I'd like to talk to (Y/N) about...her little excursions in my orchard."

It didn't take long for the two of you to be alone, and once you were sure the others were no longer within ear shot or sight, you made quick work of the space between you and wrapped your arms around Arthur's waist. Your head rested against his chest as he brought his own arms up to settle just above your bum.

"I am so sorry, Art," you mumbled into his shirt, and you felt, before you heard his chuckle.

"It's alright, love," he reassured, and you felt him plant a kiss on the crown of your head. "It's not everyday my woman tries to kill me."

You groaned. "You're not going to let me live this down, are you?"

He nodded. "Not a chance, no."

For a while, you remained in each other's embrace, enjoying the contact you so rarely allowed yourselves to indulge in for fear of discovery. The one major downfall of persuing a relationship with royalty. The both of you had to keep it secret from the others until talks of marriage for Arthur calmed down and he had a better hold of all the nobles who were still skeptical of him.

When you finally pulled back, you frowned up at your lover. "What are you doing here, anyway? You knew I'd be shooting today."

"Wet Stick wanted to inspect this year's harvest." Arthur shrugged, hands taking hold of your hips. "I couldn't come up with an excuse to stop him, he'd see right through it, so I joined them."

"And risk your lives in the process." You rolled your eyes, slipping your arms from his waist and sliding them up to wrap around his neck. "I see your logic."

"Hey, it was good plan," he argued with a frown of mock seriousness, "until you decided to send an arrow this way."

You gave a short laugh of incredulity. "And how was I supposed to know you were here?"

He lifted a shoulder and tilted his head to the side. "You're the archer. Aren't you supposed to be the eyes in the sky?"

"You're insufferable," you say with a chuckle, shaking your head as you did so.

Arthur smiled down at you, then his eyes flickered to your lips only inches away from his own. His hold on your hips tightened by a margin. "You do know if you talked like that to royalty, you could lose your head."

Your voice dropped down to a whisper as you replied, "Well then, I guess it's a good thing my king is in love with me, hm?"

"Is he really?" Arthur whispered back, head slowly tilting down towards yours, he warm breath fanning your lips.

You nodded, just barely stopping yourself from yanking him down.

When he spoke again, his lips brushed against your own. "Do you love your king back, lady archer?"

In reply, you pushed up on the tip of your toes and kissed him. He smiled against it, then groaned and brought one hand up to tangle in your hair.

Every archer knows stray shots could be fatal. But if this was what you get in return, then you had no problem with missing a few targets every now and then.


End file.
